James Cromwell
James Cromwell (born January 27, 1940 in Los Angeles, California) is a highly respected actor and a veteran Star Trek performer. While he has made several appearances on three of the Star Trek series, he is best known to Trek fans for his portrayal of Zefram Cochrane in the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact. He would go on to make an uncredited cameo as in "Broken Bow", the pilot episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. But Cromwell has become a highly recognizable figure outside of Star Trek, as well. He earned an Oscar nomination for his performance as Farmer Hoggett in the 1995 family film Babe, a role which he reprised in the 1998 sequel, Babe: Pig in the City. He also gained praise for playing a crooked police captain in the highly-praised 1997 neo-noir thriller L.A. Confidential. Also starring in that film was one-time Star Trek: The Next Generation guest actor Matt McCoy, whom Cromwell had worked with twice before in two television projects and would work with him again on the short-lived TV series Citizen Baines in 2001. Born in Los Angeles and raised in New York, Cromwell began his acting career on television in 1974, but had some difficulty breaking into feature films due to his height: at a staggering 6'7", many filmmakers were afraid to give him any roles as he would tower over their stars. This, however, would hardly be a sign of things to come. One of his earliest films was 1978's The Cheap Detective, in which he co-starred with other future Trek alumni such as Louise Fletcher (Winn Adami), David Ogden Stiers (Timicin), and Jonathan Banks (Shel-la). Cromwell followed this with roles in such films as 1983's The Man with Two Brains, with David Warner and Jeffrey Combs, and 1984's Oh, God! You Devil, with future Star Trek: Voyager star Robert Picardo. The following year, Cromwell appeared in the film Explorers, which also featured Picardo as well as Dick Miller. And in 1988, Cromwell would make an appearance in the pilot episode of TV's China Beach, starring not only Robert Picardo but Trek alumni Megan Gallagher, Jeff Kober, and Concetta Tomei as well. Cromwell has also become widely recognized for playing Mr. Skolnick, the father of the main character, in the 1984 comedy Revenge of the Nerds. This film also starred fellow Star Trek actors Bernie Casey and Brian Tochi. Cromwell would reprise the role of Skolnick in three sequels: 1987's Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (with Ed Lauter); 1992's Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation (with Casey, Tochi, and Clancy Brown); and Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (with Casey, Tochi, and Robert Picardo). Cromwell has been particularly busy following his Oscar-nominated role for Babe, starring in such big, popular Hollywood films as Eraser (1996, with Patrick Kilpatrick), Deep Impact (1998, with Denise Crosby, Tucker Smallwood, Kurtwood Smith, and Concetta Tomei), The General's Daughter (1999, with Clarence Williams III), and the highly-praised 1999 drama The Green Mile, with William Sadler and Paula Malcomson. However, Cromwell has also found time to participate in smaller films as well, such as 1997's Owd Bob, in which he co-starred with Colm Meaney (Miles O'Brien on TNG and DS9). Films he has appeared in since the turn of the century include Space Cowboys (2000, with Barbara Babcock), The Sum of All Fears (2002, with Bruce McGill), the 2004 science fiction epic I, Robot, and the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard (which also featured Ed Lauter). As extensive as his film credits are, his television credits are even more so. In 1976, Cromwell co-starred with fellow Star Trek actors George Murdock, Andrew Robinson, William Windom, and Anthony Zerbe on the mini-series Once an Eagle. Ten years later, Cromwell was among the cast of the mini-series Dream West. Also starring in this project were Cromwell's Star Trek: First Contact co-stars Jonathan Frakes and Alice Krige, as well as F. Murray Abraham, Michael Ensign, Matt McCoy, Noble Willingham, and Anthony Zerbe. In 1990, Cromwell once again starred with Matt McCoy in the TV movie Miracle Landing, which also featured Armin Shimerman (Quark, etc.) and Herta Ware (Yvette Picard). More recent TV projects include the 2000 TV movie Fail Safe (with Bill Smitrovich) and 2002's RKO, a TV movie written by Star Trek: Nemesis scribe John Logan. In 2003, Cromwell had a role in the highly acclaimed, multiple Emmy Award-winning mini-series Angels in America. That same year, he had guest-starring roles on the HBO series Six Feet Under, which led to his earning an Emmy nomination and becoming a regular cast member on the series from 2004 until its cancellation in 2005. Cromwell also received an Emmy nomination for a guest appearance on the TV series ER. Cromwell is currently married to actress Julie Cobb, who played Yeoman Leslie Thompson in the TOS episode "By Any Other Name". However, the two have recently filed for a divorce. Cromwell's daughter, Rosemary Morgan, is also a Trek alumnus, having played Piri in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "The Chute". Appearances as Zefram Cochrane *''Star Trek: First Contact'' *ENT: **"Broken Bow" **"Regeneration" (still image from Star Trek: First Contact; uncredited) **"In a Mirror, Darkly" (archive footage from Star Trek: First Contact; uncredited) Other Trek connections Addtional projects in which Cromwell appeared with other Star Trek performers include: * The Nancy Walker Show (1976 TV series, with William Schallert) * A Fine Mess (1988, with Paul Sorvino, Keye Luke, and Darryl Henriques) * The Rescue (1988, with Leon Russom) * Pink Cadillac (1989, with Jimmie F. Skaggs and John Fleck) * Christine Cromwell: Things That Go Bump in the Night (1989, with John de Lancie) * The Babe (1992, with Danny Goldring) * Romeo Is Bleeding (1993, with Ron Perlman) * The Shaggy Dog (1994 TV movie, with Ed Begley, Jr.) * The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996, with Vincent Schiavelli) * Snow Falling on Cedars (1999, with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) External Links * * de:James CromwellCromwell, JamesCromwell, JamesCromwell, JamesCromwell, JamesCromwell, James